Metro News & Reviews

Union Station page now up on Metro.net

In case you didn’t know, Metro.net now has a page exclusively dedicated to Los Angeles Union Station. It’s got all the relevant information: available retail and dining, history of the station, transportation options, and event listing.

Go check it out and let us know what you think! More information will be added to the page in the coming months – especially with the station’s 75th anniversary happening next year – so make sure to check back often.

The site is a great addition and it’s my experience that many people have lots of questions about this important station. Here’s a few thoughts on information the site could use:
*Operating hours for the retail store and dining locations.
*Information on parking (prices, map showing short-term lots and the entrances long-term garage).
*More details on rental cars including operating hours for counters.
*A map showing which buses use each bay at the Patsaouras Transit Plaza
*An area map showing important bus stops nearby (El Monte Busway & Alameda, Cesar Chavez & Vignes and Alameda & Los Angeles).

All good suggestions by Rick. Also I don’t see the new Metropolitan Lounge on the map, supposed to be above the ticketing area. We hear it is to open soon, maybe this month?

Details on the long term parking are essential, where one reports in for stays over three days, the fact that the lot has no attendants so one must keep their ticket and pay prior to re-entering to pick up their car.

Also maybe some info about the Red Cap service, where to gravitate if one needs assistance to the train, etc.

I think the Transportation tab (section) in the page needs some more work. Right now, you are listing at least of all the transit agencies in L.A. County. This is good. But more importantly, Metro needs to have a new section on which bus routes service a one-half mile radius of Union Station and where to ride to these buses. The info must be shown at the website and on each train platform and other strategic areas.

As a suggestion it would be beneficial to everyone who uses the Silver Line to have a better stop to Union Station. Last time I looked for a Silver Line bus stop; I walked from Union Station to Spring St. between Temple and First Sts in the Civic Center.

If no one can lawfully access Union Station from 1 am to 4 am without a transportation purpose, then Famima should be closed during these hours. Also, there definitely needs to be more parking information to direct people to the parking lot by the MTA building, where the cheapest long term and overnight parking is, and not the front, where it is uncovered and geared towards short term parking. Customer Relations and the Customer Service Center (by the fish tank) need to be more clearly defined.